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“I might stay the night,” he says casually.
I look up from my unpacking duties.
“No, it’s fine. You don’t have anywhere to sleep.”
“I could sleep with you.” His eyes hold mine. “We could spoon like old times.”
I press my lips together. Do I address this now? Honestly, I’m just too fucking tired and emotionally worn out from Brock to even think about this shit today.
“Callie will be here soon. She’s sleeping with me in my bed tonight.” I fake a smile.
“Cancel on her.”
“No, I would never do that. Thanks, anyway. You should get going, I don’t want to hold you up any longer,” I say, knowing I need to get rid of him.
His eyes hold mine and I know that he wants me to ask him to stay.
He’s my stepbrother. Yuck.
“You going to be okay?” he asks.
“Yes.” I smile as I look around my new apartment. “Perfect. I’ll just potter around now and get the boring things done.”
He looks around at the piles of boxes everywhere. “Damn, moving is a bitch, huh?”
“Don’t I know it.” I sigh. I’m going straight to bed after he leaves, but I’m not telling him that. I’ll at least pretend that I’m motivated and going to put shit away with Callie. After my escapades at the gym last night I hardly slept a wink, I’m absolutely exhausted.
Callie had a wedding on tonight, and Rourke got called into work, so it’s just me here in my new apartment. Something Peter doesn’t need to know.
I walk to the door to give him the hint. “See you later.” I smile as I open it.
“Bye.” He sighs.
“Thanks so much.” I kiss him quickly, nearly pushing him out the door before I close it behind him and sigh in relief.
I look around my new apartment and smile. It has a really good, homey feel about it. It’s a little old, but it has polished timber floors, big windows, and lots of natural light. There are two bedrooms, a big kitchen, and a brand new bathroom for me to swoon over.
I love it. It really feels like a new beginning for me.
My phone rings. I glance over, see the name, and I scramble to answer it.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Tull,” Simon says, sounding happy. I close my eyes at the sound of his voice. “How are you?” he asks.
“Good,” I reply in a clipped tone. “I called you the other night.”
“Yeah, sorry. I was at work and missed your call.”
I narrow my eyes. “When did we start lying to each other?” I reply flatly.
He stays silent.
“I saw you, Simon.” I pause for a moment, wondering if it is a good idea to talk about this over the phone. “Who is she?”
Silence….
I close my eyes, the hurt rising in my chest.
“She’s nobody, Tull.”
I look up at the ceiling. “She sure looked like a somebody.”
“You wanted this break.”
“To travel,” I hit back. God, if only he knew what I’d been doing. Oh, that’s right, I don’t want to fucking know it myself.
“So, I’m supposed to just sit here and wait for you to decide if you’re coming back,” he asks, annoyed.
“I am coming back.” I pause. “Was coming back,” I add.
“You are fucking coming back, Tully. Don’t give me your shit and say you were coming back now.”
I stay silent.
“Tull.” Simon pauses on the phone. “I love you. Being with other people just makes me appreciate what we have so much more.”
I feel the lump rise in my throat again. Other people? How many have there been?
“Do you know how much it hurt last night when I saw you look at your phone and put it back in your pocket, and then put your arm around her?” I whisper, holding back my tears.
“Tully,” he whispers. “Baby, don’t.”
“Don’t what, Simon? Don’t be upset that you’re fucking other women.”
I screw my face shut as pain lances through my heart. He’s slept with someone else. I’ve turned into a dirty whore. What have we become?
The innocence between us will never be the same again.
This is my worst fucking nightmare.
“You wanted a break.” He hesitates for a moment. “I hope you’re experiencing new things, too. It was just one night. I’ll never see her again.”
“N-new things,” I stammer. “Having sex with other people is new things?”
“Stop it. Stop with the fucking mind games, Tully. You wanted a break. You got it. In four months, you come back to me with this fucking shit out of your system, okay?”
I stay silent.
“Because I love you and I still want to marry you.”
I listen, waiting, unable to speak.
“Okay?” he whispers.
I feel a little mollified, but I can’t help myself. I have to ask. “Do you care about her?”
“No. Not like that, anyway.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper as I look around my apartment.
“You’re the girl I love. You’re the girl I’m going to marry, I already know that. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.”
